Speaker 1: People I often ask what's your favorite celebrity moment, And
Speaker 1: I'll be honest, My favorite moments are the non celebrities.
Speaker 1: My favorite moments are the strangers. To be in a
Speaker 1: taxi going through New York and see someone on the
Speaker 1: sidewalk wearing a piece magic, Yeah, that to me is
Speaker 1: always the most humbling. I'm finally at a point where
Speaker 1: I don't chase her down to introduce myself and give
Speaker 1: her a Hoggins say thank you.
Speaker 2: Here in New York City, one of the September traditions
Speaker 2: is Fashion Week. The city buzzes with runway shows and
Speaker 2: parties as the fashion houses present their collections for the
Speaker 2: following spring and summer seasons. Today, I'm talking to one
Speaker 2: of my favorite fashion designers, Wes Gordon, the creative director
Speaker 2: for Carolina Herrera. He presented a gorgeous collection of clothing
Speaker 2: at the Whitney Museum. He also helped to launch a book,
Speaker 2: color Mania, that highlights the importance of color to the
Speaker 2: Carolina her brand. And I'm so happy that you're here, Wes.
Speaker 2: This is very exciting and such a busy time for you.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for having me. I'm so happy
Speaker 1: to be here. It is a busy time. But if
Speaker 1: ever there was a good moment to come here, it's now.
Speaker 1: Right after we finished our collection. Market week is going
Speaker 1: on right now, and I'm not terribly helpful during that.
Speaker 2: You're not.
Speaker 1: I'm not. When people ask me the price of something,
Speaker 1: I either mistakingly go way low or way high, so
Speaker 1: they keep me as far away from market as possible.
Speaker 2: Okay, Well, you have another big thing. I mean, coming
Speaker 2: out with a book like color Menia is a big deal.
Speaker 1: Well for me, it was a very big deal. But
Speaker 1: I think I just read that you're doing your one
Speaker 1: hundredth book.
Speaker 2: Yes, this is your first, this is my first. Well,
Speaker 2: good luck, thank you. You never know what happens in
Speaker 2: a life.
Speaker 1: Okay, Well, now.
Speaker 2: You're only thirty six years old. I was going to
Speaker 2: say thirty six effing years old, and I'm so jealous,
Speaker 2: and uh, you have a long, long time ahead of
Speaker 2: you should be as productive as you've been in the
Speaker 2: last thirty six years.
Speaker 1: Well, thank you.
Speaker 2: I think you're an extraordinary and Vogue said very nice
Speaker 2: things about you and your show.
Speaker 1: You did your homework.
Speaker 2: Oh yes, look at this the Vogue runway on twenty
Speaker 2: twenty three. His biggest show so far at Carolina Herrera.
Speaker 2: It's been five years since he took over from the
Speaker 2: brand founder. There wasn't any big to do about an anniversary.
Speaker 2: But it's no small accomplishment to hit the five year
Speaker 2: mark in today's fashion industry, when designers are moved in
Speaker 2: and out of creative director positions so regularly, and even
Speaker 2: superstars are shown the door. So hats off to him,
Speaker 2: thank you, and hats off to you, really, Wes, it's
Speaker 2: quite an accomplishment, Thank you so much. And the clothes
Speaker 2: were gorgeous. I loved that you started the show with
Speaker 2: the white blouse that Carolina Herrera trademark. I've known Carolina
Speaker 2: Herrera for quite a while and the last time I
Speaker 2: had her at my home she came in Maine. She
Speaker 2: came with her family for our traditional popovers, and you know,
Speaker 2: this wasp waisted woman eating a popover. It just makes
Speaker 2: me laugh because then we started to talk about the
Speaker 2: size of one's waist. Can I tell you what she
Speaker 2: said about the waste? Okay, well, she pointed out that
Speaker 2: a woman's waist should always be the circumference of her head.
Speaker 2: Oh my god, so my head is a twenty two
Speaker 2: and a half inch head. Okay, my waist has not
Speaker 2: been twenty two and a half inches for about sixty years.
Speaker 1: I think you look great. She's full of She is
Speaker 1: the queen of the witty one liner. She has a
Speaker 1: lot of good ones.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and we measured took I took out a tape
Speaker 2: measure and I made her measure her head at her
Speaker 2: waiting game. Hut. It was so fun. It was so fun,
Speaker 2: and hers was exactly the same.
Speaker 1: Really, Yes, she's fabulous.
Speaker 2: She is a fabulous, beautiful woman. But that white shirt
Speaker 2: is iconic, and you have managed to change that white
Speaker 2: shirt so much. Well, let's talk about your current fashion
Speaker 2: a little bit after we get a little bit of
Speaker 2: your background, because I don't really know your background. I
Speaker 2: don't know where you grew up, where you went to
Speaker 2: high school. Tell us a little bit about that.
Speaker 1: So I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, and I grew
Speaker 1: up going to a very conservative private school where boys
Speaker 1: didn't grow up to be fashion designers. So I kind
Speaker 1: of kept this passion a secret. And I think you'd agree.
Speaker 1: But I think figuring out in life what you're passionate
Speaker 1: about is one of the greatest blessings. A person could have,
Speaker 1: because then all the decisions that come after that are
Speaker 1: so much easier. Where you want to go to school,
Speaker 1: kind of internship you want to have, what kind of
Speaker 1: work you want to do? And I realized early on
Speaker 1: that I love clothes. I love the power of fashion.
Speaker 1: I think I was four years old sitting in my
Speaker 1: mother's closet telling her what she'd have to wear to
Speaker 1: work every day?
Speaker 2: Did you?
Speaker 1: And now, being a father, I understand how accommodating she was,
Speaker 1: because when my son tries to do that, I ignore
Speaker 1: him completely. But then I grew up in Atlanta. I
Speaker 1: studied fashion in londonchool.
Speaker 2: Well, now, how would you find your way from Atlanta, Georgia,
Speaker 2: which is not the most sophisticated place.
Speaker 1: It's not for our Atlanta listeners. It's a very sophisticated okay.
Speaker 2: A very sophisticated place, but you know what I know.
Speaker 1: But also it was a different time.
Speaker 2: Who advised you to go to the central Saint Martin's
Speaker 2: in London, the fashion school that produced John Galliano, Stella McCartney.
Speaker 2: How did you find your level.
Speaker 1: Of prep is extraordinary, Martha. I found it on my
Speaker 1: own because the world is very different that now. If
Speaker 1: you're interested in something. Social media has made everything much
Speaker 1: more accessible. At that time, Atlanta didn't have a fashion community,
Speaker 1: and I was reading biographies of designers that I loved,
Speaker 1: and I kept coming across these words Central Saint Martin's
Speaker 1: and it became my Hogwarts. It became my north Star.
Speaker 2: I know your parents said, Okay.
Speaker 1: Which is amazing, right, Yeah? I never even visited it
Speaker 1: any siblings. I have a younger sister and did she
Speaker 1: was the first one to go off to school.
Speaker 2: Wow.
Speaker 1: And my parents let me pack a bag and go
Speaker 1: to art school in London for four years.
Speaker 2: And had you been to Europe before?
Speaker 1: I'd been to Europe before, but everyone else in my
Speaker 1: school was going to traditional four year college. So really,
Speaker 1: I think every time I tell this story, how extraordinarily cool.
Speaker 1: My mom and dad are amazing. And then I spent
Speaker 1: four years in London. While I was there, I spent
Speaker 1: my summers in New York with Tom Ford and Oscar Delareenta.
Speaker 2: And was Tom what was he doing? Then?
Speaker 1: Tom was doing his Men's War and mister Delaurenta was
Speaker 1: alive at the time and making beautiful collections. And I
Speaker 1: think I spent every penny in my savings account on
Speaker 1: my wardrobe for Oscar, so I was the best dressed intern,
Speaker 1: broke but very well dressed. I would have to take
Speaker 1: the subway to work every day standing because I didn't
Speaker 1: want to wrinkle. When I got to the office. And
Speaker 1: I got to be I think partially I'll credit my wardrobe.
Speaker 1: I got to be his intern, so I'd stand next
Speaker 1: to him all day handing him pins, which was very
Speaker 1: nerve wracking. He wouldn't turn his head to look to
Speaker 1: see where the pin was coming from. He would just
Speaker 1: put out his hand and I would try to have
Speaker 1: to anticipate, and it was magical, and it was the
Speaker 1: magic of American fashion, you know, at this amazing time.
Speaker 1: And then after graduating, I thought, oh, as a twenty
Speaker 1: two year old, I'm qualified to start my own company,
Speaker 1: which no one lets you do if you graduate law school,
Speaker 1: but no one seems to stop you if you graduate
Speaker 1: fashion school. So I put together a very small collection,
Speaker 1: coming from a live work studio space in the Financial District,
Speaker 1: and started just holding up pieces in.
Speaker 2: Market your own company, Yeah.
Speaker 1: But small small. I had an inflatable mattress that I'd
Speaker 1: have to deflate in the mornings before an intern arrived.
Speaker 2: But who bought your clothes? Then?
Speaker 1: Well I was very lucky. I managed to sell to
Speaker 1: some amazing stores like Sachs Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf, Goodman, Herod's
Speaker 1: under what label? West Gordon?
Speaker 2: My Gordon? Was your name? Always West Gordon exactly?
Speaker 1: Yes, that's my full that's my names or Weston wes
Speaker 1: w E sto.
Speaker 2: So I like West.
Speaker 1: Weston Marshall Gordon, Wow, dramatic, right.
Speaker 2: So West Gordon a very good name for fashion. Thank
Speaker 2: you and knowing what you know? Now, what advice would
Speaker 2: you have given your younger self.
Speaker 1: I wouldn't change one thing. No, I think I don't
Speaker 1: know if you agree, but I think all experiences are
Speaker 1: super important. I think your success is your failures all
Speaker 1: impact you and your future and make make you who
Speaker 1: you are. So I managed to do this company for
Speaker 1: eight years, which I always tell someone to think of
Speaker 1: fashion careers and life spans in dog years, right, because
Speaker 1: it's a terrible business seven to one, seven to one,
Speaker 1: So like fifty six years, I had my company right
Speaker 1: seven times eight? Yeah, you know, I met amazing people.
Speaker 1: I did things that I'm so proud of, and I
Speaker 1: developed my own taste and I learned what I liked
Speaker 1: and what I don't liked. I learned a lot about myself.
Speaker 1: At the end of that time, I received a phone
Speaker 1: call that missus Herrera, who you know, with a waste
Speaker 1: the size of her head, was in the early phases
Speaker 1: of retiring and they were looking for someone to kind
Speaker 1: of come in and potentially be hers.
Speaker 2: So you were a prentice at first.
Speaker 1: I was a consultant.
Speaker 2: Consultant so I came in, which is sort of like
Speaker 2: the old fashioned apprentice.
Speaker 1: The beautiful thing about a consultancy is you get to
Speaker 1: go have the fun and if something works out, you
Speaker 1: can kind of smile with pride that you played a
Speaker 1: part in it. But if it doesn't go well, you
Speaker 1: can kind of put your hands in the air and
Speaker 1: say it wasn't me. So I had a great year
Speaker 1: with her. I worked on two collections. And you have
Speaker 1: to remember, I grew up in Atlanta, so American fashion
Speaker 1: to me was at the epicenter of what I knew
Speaker 1: about this industry. And to grow up in America as
Speaker 1: someone who loves fashion, you know, these grand American fashion
Speaker 1: houses hold a place of real important to you, and
Speaker 1: we don't have that many anymore. We don't it's Oscar Carolina.
Speaker 1: There are very few.
Speaker 2: Left right, and a lot of the upstarts like Donna
Speaker 2: Karen and they just seem to have sort of like
Speaker 2: eased away.
Speaker 1: And America unfortunately has a terrible tradition of a brand
Speaker 1: surviving beyond its founder. It's a very difficult conundrum in
Speaker 1: the States. So we wanted to be the exception this
Speaker 1: time with her era and I remember at the end
Speaker 1: of the year she called me into her office and
Speaker 1: said to me that, you know, she would like me
Speaker 1: to follow in her footsteps, and they're very difficult footsteps,
Speaker 1: and they're very small Manolos, So of course I could
Speaker 1: never do it exactly well, size foot is I don't know,
Speaker 1: but whatever, if she's listening to this, it's the perfect
Speaker 1: size foot And I started doing my first collection there
Speaker 1: and it was a dream. It still continues to be
Speaker 1: a dream.
Speaker 2: So in thirty six you've been working there, how many years?
Speaker 1: Five years from one six years, one consultant.
Speaker 2: Having amazing fashion shows that all The last one I
Speaker 2: saw was the one at the Plaza Hotel, that is
Speaker 2: a beautiful one. The one before that was down at
Speaker 2: the World Trade Center Park, Battery Park, Battery Park. How
Speaker 2: beautiful that was. And this year at the iconic Whitney
Speaker 2: Museum downtown in the meatpacking district, what a beautiful spot.
Speaker 2: How did that go?
Speaker 1: It was? It was great.
Speaker 2: I wanted to get there. I was working that.
Speaker 1: Day story it was there'll be another one. That's the
Speaker 1: beauty of fashion week. I loved it. You know, it's
Speaker 1: a beautiful building. It's that Renzo Piano, gorgeous building and
Speaker 1: for anyone, for you know, I'm sure you know. But
Speaker 1: there are four real fashion capitals in the world. There's
Speaker 1: New York, London, Milan, and Paris, and they each have
Speaker 1: their fashion week and a brand will show at one.
Speaker 1: New York goes first. And you know, New York is
Speaker 1: having a funny moment right now with its fashion week,
Speaker 1: where a lot of brands have left, some are showing
Speaker 1: in Paris, some are choosing not to show. I really
Speaker 1: believe in New York. I believe in American fashion.
Speaker 2: You showed in Rio de Janeiro.
Speaker 1: So we left and showed in Rio. But that was
Speaker 1: the main runway season. So for our main seasons, we
Speaker 1: will always show in New York. And I really wanted
Speaker 1: to double down on a fab show and a venue
Speaker 1: like the Whitney kind of helped us do it and
Speaker 1: say we're here, we're.
Speaker 2: Probably it's the art on exhibit right now with the Whitney.
Speaker 1: It's an exhibit called Inheritance by Rue. But we were
Speaker 1: on the ground floor, so not with the art. But yes,
Speaker 1: we just did something called a destination show where we
Speaker 1: took our attilier, we took our clothes and traveled nine
Speaker 1: hours to Rio de Janeiro to put on a fashion
Speaker 1: show same times, about as far as you can go
Speaker 1: and still be in the timestaing and it was fabulous.
Speaker 1: We did this in June. It's become a very popular
Speaker 1: thing for brands to do and it was magical. I'd
Speaker 1: never been to Brazil, so I think selfishly a part
Speaker 1: of it was choosing event that I wanted to go to.
Speaker 1: Amazing it is, but the most fabulous thing about it
Speaker 1: are the Brazilians. There are just nice, happy, beautiful, wonderful people.
Speaker 2: To use Brazilian models.
Speaker 1: We used exclusively Brazilian models, exclusively Brazilian talent for hair,
Speaker 1: makeup production, you know, all the components that make a
Speaker 1: fashion show happen, and that was something that was really
Speaker 1: important to us. You know, I think it's it's we
Speaker 1: were going to someone else's home, we were going to
Speaker 1: their community. We didn't want to just replicate what we
Speaker 1: do for Herrara in New York. We wanted that Brazilian
Speaker 1: point of view.
Speaker 2: Well, now that you've assumed the creative direction for an
Speaker 2: established brand, Carolina Herrera, you had to really approach learning
Speaker 2: the brand's legacy, but reclaiming and keeping your own vision. Now,
Speaker 2: how hard or how easy has that been?
Speaker 1: It's been easy for me because I'm lucky to work
Speaker 1: at a house that I love. You know, I think
Speaker 1: you see examples of a creative director going to a
Speaker 1: house where there maybe are not in sync with the
Speaker 1: heritage of that brand, and you see the struggle. I
Speaker 1: love her Era, I love the house. I feel grateful
Speaker 1: to work there. But I'm also a thirty six year
Speaker 1: old male, a very different person than Missus Herrera. So
Speaker 1: when I do things, it has my own flavor naturally,
Speaker 1: but I don't ever feel anything other than the utmost
Speaker 1: reverence for what preceded me at the house, and spending
Speaker 1: that first year with Missus Herrera really taught me so
Speaker 1: much about her and the four decades she spent building
Speaker 1: this brand, which is extraordinary. So in many ways, I feel,
Speaker 1: you know, a responsibility of her legacy as a designer,
Speaker 1: but I also feel an excitement about the prospect of
Speaker 1: introducing this house to women who maybe never or Herrera before.
Speaker 2: And what about the old customers, the original or existing customers.
Speaker 1: Have they stayed They've stayed. No, they've stayed, And that
Speaker 1: to me is always something I'm the most proud of.
Speaker 1: We've built the business quite a lot, and we've attracted
Speaker 1: new audiences, new markets, but never at the expense of
Speaker 1: existing clients.
Speaker 2: Now, what's it like to see your designs on the
Speaker 2: red carpet, on Martha Stewart, any of us.
Speaker 1: It's exciting. No, you know, people often ask what's your
Speaker 1: favorite celebrity moment, And I'll be honest, My favorite moments
Speaker 1: are the non celebrities. My favorite moments are the strangers.
Speaker 1: To be in a taxi going through New York and
Speaker 1: see someone on the sidewalk wearing a piece I mean,
Speaker 1: you know these It's magic, Yeah, because there are tens
Speaker 1: of thousands of pieces of clothing that she could have
Speaker 1: gone into a store and purchased, and she chose that one,
Speaker 1: and that to me is always the most humbling. I'm
Speaker 1: finally at a point where I don't chase her down
Speaker 1: to introduce myself and give her and say thank you.
Speaker 1: But my husband Paul still does it.
Speaker 2: Does that's so great? Well, in your short time as
Speaker 2: a very well known and prominage designer, how have you
Speaker 2: seen fashion change and what do you think of its
Speaker 2: current future?
Speaker 1: Oh that's a big question. So I've been working in
Speaker 1: fashion through COVID and through quarantine, and I think one
Speaker 1: big change I've seen in general, and I think it's
Speaker 1: a great one, But is I think people have overdosed
Speaker 1: on meaningless stuff. I think we're all looking to surround
Speaker 1: ourselves with pieces that bring us beauty, joy, hope and
Speaker 1: editing out the noise a little bit. So I think
Speaker 1: of that when we're making a collection, right, which consists
Speaker 1: of hundreds of pieces?
Speaker 2: How many hundreds?
Speaker 1: Two hundred?
Speaker 2: Really? Each collection?
Speaker 1: Each collection six times a year.
Speaker 2: That is a lot a lot of clothes and a
Speaker 2: lot of the best work and a lot of fabric.
Speaker 1: But how lucky am I I get to bring, you know,
Speaker 1: two hundred times six sketches to life every year. I
Speaker 1: feel so grateful, but I feel a responsibility that as
Speaker 1: a person like you who gets the magical ability to
Speaker 1: bring something from your head into existence, you have to
Speaker 1: make sure that in this day and age, it has
Speaker 1: a real reason to be a relevance, a soul, a purpose.
Speaker 1: So when I find myself looking at the wall in
Speaker 1: my office which is covered with sketches, and I see
Speaker 1: something that just maybe is just another shirt or another dress,
Speaker 1: I take that away because you know, what I think
Speaker 1: the world has learned, what our customer has learned, is
Speaker 1: you don't just need more stuff. You need more beauty,
Speaker 1: and you need more joy.
Speaker 2: And yeah, okay, and a little bit more something unique
Speaker 2: to add to what you already have.
Speaker 1: Then something that when you put it on in the
Speaker 1: morning and you zip up the zipper, you feel like dancing,
Speaker 1: you feel like smiling. The world can be dark and scary.
Speaker 1: You know, the things that you can control control them,
Speaker 1: they make.
Speaker 2: Them joy, dark and scary. West Gordon, the world.
Speaker 1: Is darkness, but it's like there's there's I'm a total optimist,
Speaker 1: So you have to make it better. You find and
Speaker 1: cultivate beauty where you can, because there are a lot
Speaker 1: of places we can't.
Speaker 2: So you're constantly working on the next questure.
Speaker 1: The next I'm working on the next three right now.
Speaker 2: Wow.
Speaker 1: No, it's I can't write a check because I don't
Speaker 1: know the year, I don't know the month, and I
Speaker 1: don't know the day. I just walk around completely unaware
Speaker 1: of what day it is, because I'm thinking about twenty
Speaker 1: twenty four, twenty.
Speaker 2: Twenty five exactly. And so the two hundred pieces or
Speaker 2: do all of them get to be manufactured in quantity?
Speaker 2: How many?
Speaker 1: No? So we sell to order as like a luxury
Speaker 1: house and will after a fashion week. I showed sixty
Speaker 1: one looks of those pieces, So say that represents one
Speaker 1: hundred and ten pieces, right, because sometimes it's a shirt
Speaker 1: and a skirt. Will show those in market along with
Speaker 1: the rest of the collection, and then of the pieces
Speaker 1: that live, and maybe it's around seventy percent those go
Speaker 1: into product and they're made either in Italy or New York.
Speaker 1: Oh good, A lot of local production very close to here.
Speaker 1: I mean New York still has a fabulous garment manufacturing
Speaker 1: community and industry.
Speaker 2: How excellent. I didn't know so many so much was
Speaker 2: made here.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it's you know, I always tell people
Speaker 1: when they walk through Times Square in the garment district,
Speaker 1: they have no idea that in these buildings above their
Speaker 1: heads are talented men and women who are sewing, cutting clothes,
Speaker 1: selling buttons, looking at fabrics. It's a real thing that
Speaker 1: still exists in the city.
Speaker 2: Well, when I worked so much on the craft departments
Speaker 2: of my magazine, we would visit all the silk flower manufacturer,
Speaker 2: Caroline Herrero was known for the silk flowers.
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2: And then I was so lucky to get that beautiful
Speaker 2: navy blue almost black bout clay coat with flowers, leather flowers. Oh,
Speaker 2: how they made here in New York, those flowers.
Speaker 1: So this is a business that I adorn. I'm glad
Speaker 1: you mentioned it. It's a company that's a third generation
Speaker 1: small Bergs.
Speaker 2: Oh small Berg Oh yeah, see family business.
Speaker 1: And they sit in there and making. Yeah, these businesses
Speaker 1: still exist.
Speaker 2: And they have the old molds and they press a leather.
Speaker 1: Cut the leathers, and I go through the boxes and
Speaker 1: I find them. And something that I've done to be
Speaker 1: supportive is every Christmas, I send them all our old
Speaker 1: fabrics and we have them made into a whole assortment
Speaker 1: of blossoms that we use as our Christmas decorations in
Speaker 1: the stores. So we put them on the trees and
Speaker 1: customers can come in and leave with the flower.
Speaker 2: Oh great, Yeah.
Speaker 1: But there's these amazing treasures still exist blocks from us
Speaker 1: in Midtown, New York.
Speaker 2: So some people have asked me, can you purchase hote
Speaker 2: couture online?
Speaker 1: Yes, I mean you can. You know, the world is
Speaker 1: a very online place these days. You know, the true
Speaker 1: definition of hoe couture are pieces that are made for you.
Speaker 1: So that's difficult to do. But I think twenty years
Speaker 1: ago the idea of buying an expensive piece of clothing
Speaker 1: online was completely outrageous, no one would ever do it.
Speaker 1: But now it's it's something people are very comfortable with.
Speaker 1: Think thanks largely to like Netta, Porte, Moda Operandi companies
Speaker 1: that have really created this trust with clients. And for
Speaker 1: me as a designer, you know what allows me to
Speaker 1: think of pieces and categories much more globally right, rather
Speaker 1: than so specific to Madison Avenue or Worth Avenue.
Speaker 2: If you have if you have someone's customer's measurements, you
Speaker 2: can create it for them.
Speaker 1: And we can. I mean, it's a very different mindset.
Speaker 1: We were speaking earlier about Bridle. I find myself I
Speaker 1: prefer to design more broadly than rather specifically to one person.
Speaker 1: I like to think of the idea of our customer.
Speaker 1: Sometimes when you work one on one, it can be
Speaker 1: it's a it's a long process, like a bride, like
Speaker 1: a bride, and we've been very lucky we work with
Speaker 1: wonderful brides. Any brides are listening. But there's a freedom
Speaker 1: to just sketching, not knowing exactly who it's going to.
Speaker 2: And who's going to wear it, who's going to enjoy it.
Speaker 1: I think about interior design sometimes and how difficult it
Speaker 1: must be because you can't just realize your own personal vision.
Speaker 1: You have to have your clients sign off on everything
Speaker 1: you would like to do esthetically. And for me, as
Speaker 1: a ready to wear designer not working in couture specifically,
Speaker 1: I get to kind of dream my own dream and
Speaker 1: make it real. And that's the difference. I think.
Speaker 2: Well, you did two dresses for Beyonce for her blockbuster
Speaker 2: tour this year.
Speaker 1: We did very exciting.
Speaker 2: That was a fashion tour to force everybody wanted to
Speaker 2: design for her. She has that incredible body and that
Speaker 2: incredible or the queen incredible audience. So you designed two
Speaker 2: dresses for the June twenty first show. What were they
Speaker 2: like and what was the process like?
Speaker 1: First of all, there's no one, I'm did.
Speaker 2: You get to fit her on her?
Speaker 1: In person? I haven't even been to the show? Did
Speaker 1: you go the processes? We work with our team, her team,
Speaker 1: and you know that is a production that show, so
Speaker 1: they are making so many clothes for her all over
Speaker 1: the world. I tried to incorporate some Herrera isms, right
Speaker 1: the neckline, the cape, to create pieces that felt Herrera
Speaker 1: when she would wear them, because you kind of want that,
Speaker 1: you know. And it was amazing. I mean, having been
Speaker 1: to a Beyonce concert before, what she does for three
Speaker 1: hours is superhuman. I mean, she's a phenomenal performer. And
Speaker 1: the idea that she wore pieces that we made here
Speaker 1: in New York was so cool to send her sketches
Speaker 1: because she's very involved in the process.
Speaker 2: Are you in the ballet?
Speaker 1: And you are? So these notes are oh my god.
Speaker 2: No, no, that's not even in the note.
Speaker 1: I didn't I need to send these notes to my
Speaker 1: caught on everything.
Speaker 2: I read a lot, so I kind of try to
Speaker 2: keep up with friends that I know and put the ballet,
Speaker 2: which are you going to do?
Speaker 1: So this October October soon with the Ballet, we're doing
Speaker 1: their Fall gala, and this is a traditional event. This
Speaker 1: is an event that traditionally they've partnered with a fashion
Speaker 1: brand to do the costumes, and in this case they're
Speaker 1: redoing a Balanchine piece called Who Cares, So rather than
Speaker 1: having carte blanche to think of a crazy fantasy, I
Speaker 1: had to work with the Balanchine Trust, which was a
Speaker 1: really fun project to create what is essentially the third
Speaker 1: iteration of costumes for this piece. Third so we had
Speaker 1: to adhere to the original colors and shapes, which are
Speaker 1: sunset tones. You know, it's a piece that's very much
Speaker 1: kind of jazz age and kind of martiniz at the
Speaker 1: Rainbow Room kind of vibe. So really respect his vision,
Speaker 1: which the Trust does an amazing job of ensuring people
Speaker 1: do to create what will become now the new official
Speaker 1: costumes for this Balanchine piece.
Speaker 2: Unfortunately, I'm going to be out of town. I wanted
Speaker 2: to go. I got the invitation and I wanted to
Speaker 2: go so badly. When I saw you were involved, Oh
Speaker 2: thank you, and it's going to be extraordinary.
Speaker 1: I think it should be a fun night. I'm actually
Speaker 1: quite nervous about it. I just had a fitting today. Oh,
Speaker 1: because it's a very different thing that I'm used to
Speaker 1: your designing performance wear.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's not, you know, fabric surgery.
Speaker 1: I wanted to put embroidery in a certain place, I
Speaker 1: couldn't because one of the male dancer's hands has to
Speaker 1: go there. So it's a real learning experience for me.
Speaker 1: You can fake a picture, like I can make something
Speaker 1: look good in a picture, but it's a lot harder
Speaker 1: to fake ninety minutes of someone jumping up and down
Speaker 1: on the stage.
Speaker 2: So well, talking about faking pictures, this color media, it's
Speaker 2: not exactly faking pictures, but this photographer you all have
Speaker 2: to see. This book is published by Rizzoli just Hot
Speaker 2: off the press, Off the press, Hot Hot, Hot, Color
Speaker 2: and Fashion. And it is a bright, bright pink. It's
Speaker 2: a Barbie pink cover, her Ara pink color a color Okay,
Speaker 2: she she came first, She came first, right, who know
Speaker 2: who came to Barbie did with red type and the
Speaker 2: pictures are.
Speaker 1: I don't forget my yellow edge. So the book opens
Speaker 1: with Dove Cameron, whose your grandkids would know. Oh yes, yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: a global pop star. And this book is the story
Speaker 1: of a collaboration I did with this amazing photographer over
Speaker 1: five different shoots, over three years, six different shoots over
Speaker 1: I got a six hand gesture from the back. And
Speaker 1: it started during COVID because we couldn't put on fashion shows,
Speaker 1: we couldn't create content in the way that we used to,
Speaker 1: so brands were coming up with creative solutions to speak
Speaker 1: to their audience. And you know, I connected with this
Speaker 1: photographer whose pictures look like paintings. I mean they're beautiful,
Speaker 1: Elizabeta por She's based out of Munich, and you know,
Speaker 1: as someone who loves color, color is at the heart
Speaker 1: of what I do at her era, I was immediately
Speaker 1: drawn to her work because she paints with her camera.
Speaker 1: I mean they look like brushstrokes of oil paint.
Speaker 2: So it goes through black and white to yellow choo. Yeah.
Speaker 1: My favorite part actually is the contact sheet in the back,
Speaker 1: the table of contents, because then you can see the
Speaker 1: entire rainbow spectrum of the book.
Speaker 2: Right let me see. Oh yeah, it's beautiful, It is
Speaker 2: so beautiful.
Speaker 1: And it was so fun. I mean, you know, after
Speaker 1: a lot of pictures, a lot of pictures, I mean
Speaker 1: six different shoots we did together, and the first was
Speaker 1: actually done so in the height of COVID with dancers
Speaker 1: who couldn't perform, because you know, I was. I thought
Speaker 1: it was so sad. That's a ballet dancer. Let's see
Speaker 1: Wendy Whalen is in there. I'm sure you know, but
Speaker 1: I was so touched by this idea of dancers. Who
Speaker 1: who's that smoking Maggie maur Oh boy. We don't see
Speaker 1: the cigarette, so you're assuming she's smoking. It could just
Speaker 1: be smoke coming out of her mouth.
Speaker 2: It's a really interesting photographs, interesting hairdoos, interesting jewelry, and
Speaker 2: beautiful beautiful. So you made all these dresses.
Speaker 1: I made all those dresses with a lot of help.
Speaker 1: Let you be the first to say, I work in
Speaker 1: a job where I am completely dependent on many hard
Speaker 1: working people. I get to be the one who does
Speaker 1: fun things like sit and talk to Martha Stewart. But
Speaker 1: it's really the result of hundreds of people who bring
Speaker 1: these dreams to life. You know, I always joke that
Speaker 1: I don't have a job I can take with me.
Speaker 2: Well, you used COVID very well, Thank you and filled
Speaker 2: your time with creativity and productivity, because to make a
Speaker 2: book like this with so many different people is really
Speaker 2: an accomplishment. This is a very nice first book.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much, very nice. Next time ninety nine
Speaker 1: to go.
Speaker 2: Next time. You have to have more words in it
Speaker 2: of yourself out You're very eloquent.
Speaker 1: You know, I felt like a little bashful about even
Speaker 1: having my name on it. Well I put it second.
Speaker 2: Right, you did. But you did a lot of work there.
Speaker 2: So you design these beautiful color palettes. How do you
Speaker 2: express yourself personally in color? Because here you are, let
Speaker 2: me describe what this famous design. He's wearing a C. H.
Speaker 2: Carolina Herrera denim jacket.
Speaker 1: Thought it looked very much.
Speaker 2: It is very much. It is very much me and
Speaker 2: then black black denim jeans and black Ford. Those tom
Speaker 2: Ford shoes, they are tom Ford shoes from the is now,
Speaker 2: from current or olden days.
Speaker 1: Current current, not wearing old shoes to see you?
Speaker 2: Okay, Well, I don't know.
Speaker 1: Well I also in my defense, I thought, you know,
Speaker 1: I didn't know that anyone would be looking at my
Speaker 1: outfit today, so I thought it was just a podcast.
Speaker 2: But I do look at everything.
Speaker 1: But it's terrible because everyone comes to me and says,
Speaker 1: you love color. You speak about collections, your color, You
Speaker 1: speak about color, your collections are so colorful. What colors
Speaker 1: do you wear? And unfortunately the answer is usual black.
Speaker 1: And it's really just out of a place of laziness,
Speaker 1: not out of a philosophical belief.
Speaker 2: But I have been lucky enough to visit Wes and
Speaker 2: his husband Paul Arnhold and at their new apartment which has
Speaker 2: a lot of color in it.
Speaker 1: It has a lot of color and beauty.
Speaker 2: It's such a beautiful place.
Speaker 1: Thank you.
Speaker 2: And before that I also visited your farm, which I
Speaker 2: thought was just amazing.
Speaker 1: Wow from you, that is the highest no, because you
Speaker 1: have animals.
Speaker 2: You have animals geese fromwhere you have my Sebastopold geese.
Speaker 1: And now that we are, I mean for many years
Speaker 1: we had this farm which is essentially a children's fantasy,
Speaker 1: but we didn't have the children, so we were two
Speaker 1: grown men out there playing with our bunnies and our
Speaker 1: animals at the farm. Fortunately we now have two children.
Speaker 2: And beautiful children. Georgia who is just an infant seven
Speaker 2: months and Henry, who is so cute.
Speaker 1: He's two, he's two and four months. He just started preschool.
Speaker 2: He is I saw I just saw an instagram of
Speaker 2: him dancing.
Speaker 1: He's a very good dancer. He is and his favorite McDonald.
Speaker 2: He was doing this.
Speaker 1: They can move, but he takes after he was.
Speaker 2: On He was on a dirt road at your farm, dancing.
Speaker 2: Very cute. Were you playing music while he was there?
Speaker 1: Yeah? Oh he loves a tune.
Speaker 2: Yeah he is.
Speaker 1: He's a riot.
Speaker 2: He's a very cute kids.
Speaker 1: As you know, like life is so much more joyful
Speaker 1: with the kids. And suddenly this farm has a whole
Speaker 1: new We were seeing it through new eyes and it's
Speaker 1: really magical. And I love these kids going out and
Speaker 1: playing with Since he's been born, he knows that eggs
Speaker 1: come with chicken, come from chickens. He goes out in
Speaker 1: the morning to the coop and gets the eggs. And
Speaker 1: I love raising kids who know that, especially.
Speaker 2: And picking the apples. I had a picture of him
Speaker 2: picking apples.
Speaker 1: Picking apples from the trees.
Speaker 2: So nice.
Speaker 1: Brushing the horses.
Speaker 2: It is.
Speaker 1: He has a miniature white pony now and he does.
Speaker 2: Has he been on the pony?
Speaker 1: Good? He walks him around on a leash.
Speaker 2: So how has entertaining changed for you since you were
Speaker 2: both Paul and West entertained beautifully? This is casually, beautifully, elegantly.
Speaker 2: Oh I met I must mention on this podcast, Paul Arnhold,
Speaker 2: Wes's husband came on my Roku show for Honkkah and
Speaker 2: Paul is not a cook, but he brought his mother's
Speaker 2: apple sauce recipe and we served it on Douglas Friedman's
Speaker 2: lot Keiz and he is now officially one of my
Speaker 2: four Honka Hunks.
Speaker 1: Really yeah, wow, that's amazing. I was very excited he came.
Speaker 1: He went out to Bedford, very nervous, and he came
Speaker 1: back very excited. We have more apple sauce now in
Speaker 1: our kitchen from him practicing. Because imagine being poor, Paul
Speaker 1: asked to join Martha Stewart to cook something on TV.
Speaker 2: Well, he was absolutely fabulous and you would have never
Speaker 2: known he suffered a moment of anxiety.
Speaker 1: Oh my god.
Speaker 2: I recently saw you when you introduced me as I
Speaker 2: was awarded cover story by the Daily front Row. Very
Speaker 2: well served and you were so busy, but you took
Speaker 2: the time. I just want to thank you for taking
Speaker 2: the time to write a very very appropriate and very
Speaker 2: thoughtful introduction.
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, thank you so much. I was so
Speaker 1: honored to do it. It's a really cool award. That
Speaker 1: was quite a celebrity filled room of award recipients.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the l magazine got Magazine of the Year.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and you you if they didn't give you Cover
Speaker 1: of the Year, I can't imagine who they possibly can't
Speaker 1: given that too.
Speaker 2: Well, that was just funny. But I think you and
Speaker 2: I think that was your first I did. I said
Speaker 2: it had to be the cover of the year from
Speaker 2: the one hundred and eight billion.
Speaker 1: Impressions direct quote.
Speaker 2: And they all laught. Everybody laughed.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you were ahead. And I could also see the
Speaker 1: teleprompter and you didn't stick to that teleprompter for one second.
Speaker 1: You are completely bad.
Speaker 2: I'm bad. Back to your fashion. You showed your show
Speaker 2: at the Whitney. You got very good reviews. What trends
Speaker 2: emerged from that fashion week here in New York that
Speaker 2: I'm going to look forward to?
Speaker 1: Cleanliness? Oh yes, yeah, I think it was a real
Speaker 1: paired down elegance that came out this season. I personally
Speaker 1: found myself in fittings, subtracting, taking away a seam, taking
Speaker 1: away a ruffle, just to create pragmatic pieces, pieces that
Speaker 1: just feel like a great skirt, a great shirt, a
Speaker 1: great pair of heels, and the new classics the new classics,
Speaker 1: like my inspiration for the season was Carolyn Bassett Kennedy,
Speaker 1: This idea of a woman of great style, combining basics
Speaker 1: in a way that creates something fabulous.
Speaker 2: I remember her and her bias cut satin wedding dress,
Speaker 2: thinking how could anybody wear such a simple dress.
Speaker 1: And make it look extraordinary, look amazing?
Speaker 2: Still to this.
Speaker 1: Day, probably the most poppied wedding dress.
Speaker 2: It makes me cry every time I think about it.
Speaker 1: So she I think I have every picture of her.
Speaker 2: Besides editing and removing color, anything in color.
Speaker 1: The color definitely we did cooler tones, so think lilacs
Speaker 1: and grays, silvers, soft pinks, kind of colors that whisper
Speaker 1: rather than yell, but when combined create something magical, Like
Speaker 1: I love the combination of lilac and black or yellow
Speaker 1: and white. You know, colors where the energy comes by
Speaker 1: their usage rather than just the pigment itself. What about
Speaker 1: fabric fabric My favorite thing to do at Herrera is
Speaker 1: to reinvent kind of these traditional evening dressy ideas as
Speaker 1: daywar so cutting what in the past would be a
Speaker 1: gown and cotton shorting for example, casual fabrics. Fabrics that
Speaker 1: work for your life in twenty twenty four, you know,
Speaker 1: and beyond pieces that you can just live in and
Speaker 1: be you.
Speaker 2: Were you able to attend anybody else's show?
Speaker 1: I did. I went to my friend Sarah Staudinger's show,
Speaker 1: who she has a brand called stad and showed at
Speaker 1: the Plaza, And it's so funny to go to a show.
Speaker 1: I mean, I'm used to doing things from a different perspective,
Speaker 1: but to sit there as an audience member is a
Speaker 1: very different experience, right, because, as you know, a fashion
Speaker 1: show is like seven minutes, eight minutes. It's a tremendous
Speaker 1: amount of work and money and time for something so
Speaker 1: short that is immediately over. So to have the opportunity
Speaker 1: to experience the flip side of that was quite fun.
Speaker 1: And I try to do one a season to support
Speaker 1: a friends or to go to go just enjoy the experience.
Speaker 2: That's nice. Have any designers really inspired you lately? Any
Speaker 2: other designers besides Carolina Carolina?
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm always looking at shows. I'm always looking at
Speaker 1: what women are wearing. I'm looking at what the stores
Speaker 1: are buying, what magazines are shooting. You know, it's every season,
Speaker 1: so many brands create so many things to be honest,
Speaker 1: it sounds silly, but I'm inspired by everyone who works
Speaker 1: in this business because it's you know, it's it's such
Speaker 1: an incredible form of self expression. Two of my permanent
Speaker 1: favorites are Valentino and Chanel I always love but the
Speaker 1: women who wear Herrera are always my greatest muse.
Speaker 2: Well, we can talk for hours, but hours. I just
Speaker 2: want to thank you so much for coming here today
Speaker 2: and to encourage you to keep up the amazing work
Speaker 2: that you're doing. Thank you, and it's a great pleasure
Speaker 2: to catch up with you, Wes, and thanks for joining
Speaker 2: me here at my office on my podcast.
Speaker 1: I have a lot of work to do to create
Speaker 1: ninety nine more.
Speaker 2: Yes, you do, start thinking, I know. Color Mania is
Speaker 2: now available at Rizzoli and Carolina Herrera stores and at
Speaker 2: Carolinahara dot com. And please be sure to follow Wes
Speaker 2: on Instagram at Wes Gordon and at Carolina Herrera.
Speaker 1: For the brand you just broke Instagram.
Speaker 2: I think, uh huh, you're gonna You're gonna get along.
Speaker 1: From the green of Instagram herself. Thank you so much.
Speaker 2: Thank you lovely, and enjoy enjoy your children as much
Speaker 2: as you seem to it's amazing.
Speaker 1: Well come next door you can share them.
Speaker 2: I will thank you so much.
Speaker 1: Thank you guys, and I love to Paul.